Hi all! I hope you enjoy chapter two. As always, whatever you recognize from A:TLA is not my property. Please review, I really enjoy hearing your feedback!

It was raining. Outside was dark, and thunder was rumbling from far off in the distance. People on the streets were running back to their homes, or into nearby shops for cover. The tea shop was almost completely packed, with all the tables full and still more people standing around by the counter.

Iroh was happy. He had tons of people with which we could share his tea. He liked when people were in the shop. He got to talk to the people of the lower ring. He liked hearing their stories: the struggles that had lead them to be living in Ba Sing Se. Many of them were homeless, their towns destroyed by Fire Nation raids. They talked about the Fire Nation. How frightened they were for family members fighting in the war. How angry they were about what had happened to their families and lives. They also talked about Ba Sing Se, and how lucky they were to be safe inside the wall. Many people said they were pleased that there was no war within the walls.

Iroh felt guilty. For 600 days, he was tried to bring these walls down, to let the Fire Nation into the last safe city in the Earth Kingdom. He was glad now that he had failed, because if he had not, there would be no safe place for him and his nephew.

He glanced over towards Zuko, who was pouring tea for an elderly couple sitting by the door. Iroh was glad that Zuko was here with him. He loved his nephew very much. There was so much potential in him that he hadn't yet been able to see in himself. Zuko walked passed Iroh to put away the money he had gotten for the tea. Iroh was proud of his nephew.

Zuko walked up beside him. "They told me today was their anniversary. I was going to give them a coupon for a free cup of tea," he said blandly. Iroh noticed his tone of voice. He knew his nephew tried to act stronger than he was.

"That is very nice of you," he said to his nephew, "it is always kind to share in other people's happiness." He watched Zuko walk back to the couple. The woman smiled widely and thanked him. They were very grateful for the gift. Zuko did not smile. He simply wished them a pleasant day, and returned to the counter.

The day was wearing on. It was hectic and Zuko was not enjoying being bossed around by the Earth Kingdom peasants that came into the shop. Many of them did not thank him for the tea. It was crowded and noisy, and getting through the crowd of people was difficult. He wished the rain would stop so they would go, but it continued to rain on and on.

His Uncle looked content, like he wanted nothing else than to wait on these people hand and foot. Zuko wondered how he could be happy doing this. It was servant work, and they were royalty. He could not accept that he was considered a traitor in his homeland. He would not accept it.

"I said I wanted the Jasmine tea," a voice said loudly.

"What," Zuko shook himself. He had been starring off into space, thinking. He looked at the man in front of him. He was a big, beefy man with a strong jaw. Zuko turned to pour his tea.

"Any day now would be nice," the man said again. He was obviously impatient, but Zuko made no effort to speed up making his tea. "Come on Scarface, you need to learn to be quicker."

Scarface, Zuko thought, really clever. Zuko turned back to face him. He handed the man his tea, and held out his hand for the money. The man sneered at him and turned to walk away without paying, but unfortunately turned straight into Iroh.

"May I show you to a table," he said, "the tea will be two copper pieces. And if you'd like anything else, please let me or my nephew know. We would be happy to serve you."

The man handed him the copper pieces and went to sit down. Zuko glared at him as he went. Iroh stood beside him, and put the money into the container.

"You cannot let their comments anger you," Iroh said, "They do not matter. Just ignore them, and be polite."

"I'm not going to be polite to men like him," Zuko spat. He turned and walked into the back to brew a fresh pot of Jasmine tea. Be polite, he thought, outraged, with the way they treat us? Zuko hated working here. He hated his life in Ba Sing Se.

He walked back out with the fresh pot, and noticed something. There was a girl sitting in the far corner of the room. She had dark hair, but her face was turned away from the counter. Zuko made his way through the crowd, collecting empty tea cups as he passed. He reached the table the girl sat at.

"Are you finished with this?" he asked, picking up her nearly empty cup.

"Oh, not quite yet!" She turned and amber eyes met green ones. "I want to finish it; the tea here is so wonderful." She smiled at him. This was not the girl from the street. He breathed deeply and put her cup back down.

"Would you like a fresh cup?" Zuko asked, "The Jasmine is just finishing steeping."

"I would love one," the girl smiled, "but unfortunately, I can't pay for it. So thank you, but no."

"Don't worry," Zuko said, "It's on the house."

He turned to walk back to the counter when he caught sight of someone. She was here, the girl from the street. She had just walked in and was taking her hood off. She shook her hair back into place and looked around. She caught sight of Zuko and her eyes widened. She looked at him the way she had in the alley. Suddenly, she pulled her hood back up and stepped back out of the shop. Zuko went quickly to the door and stepped outside after her. He watched as the girl walked up the street and into an apartment building a few blocks down.

So she's close, Zuko thought. He went back inside and got a cup of tea for the girl with the green eyes. He brought it to her, and she thanked him for his generosity. Not that it made much difference to him. They did not own this shop, and no one would notice one missing cup of tea.

The day was finally over. Zuko was sweeping, and Iroh was finishing putting away all the cups. They finished up their work, and the owner paid them and sent them on their way home. Iroh was humming happily as they walked through the rain back to the apartment. Zuko didn't know how one person could be so content. But his Uncle always was.

They reached their apartment and Iroh began to cook them dinner. As they sat and ate, Iroh told him stories from his days as a general, and about his siege on the city. Zuko had heard them all before. His Uncle had been a great general, but the loss of his son had been too painful for him. When Zuko was younger, he thought it was weakness. But he had grown to realize that it wasn't, and that his Uncle was a very strong man.

The rain stopped as they ate. When they were finished, Zuko brought the plates to the water basin to wash them. He wanted to go out, and find that girl. They weren't safe as long as she was in the city.

"You look restless," Iroh said, "You haven't been right the last few days. Is everything okay, Zuko?"

"I need to get out for a bit," he said, mostly to himself, "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back soon."

"Please, stay out of trouble."

Zuko pulled up his hood and left the apartment. He walked back onto the main street and headed for the apartment building he saw the girl go into earlier. There were still many people out. With the rain gone, the crowds began to come back into the streets. He passed a group of people standing around a vender playing a street game. The vender would put a rock under one of the three cups sitting on the crate he was using as a table. Then he would moves the cups so you would have to guess which one the rock was under. No one ever guessed right. Zuko assumed the man was cheating somehow.

Zuko walked on, and before long he was standing outside the building. He looked up at it. There were many doors, all leading to different rooms. Many people lived here. It would be almost impossible to find her room. Unless she left her apartment. He would be able to see her open her door. Then he'd know. He sat down on the curb across the street, watching. He didn't know if she would come out, or even if she was home. But he had to try.

He sat there for a long time. The sky was starting to grow dark as the sun set. People walked passed him and paid him no notice. It wasn't uncommon for someone to be in the gutter in the lower ring. He didn't mind, since he didn't notice any of them. It was nice to just be invisible; not have people pointing out his scar, or asking him for his story.

"Li?" a voice said close by. Zuko looked up. A boy was standing over him. He had dark hair, and a piece of grass sticking out from between his lips. Zuko stood up and faced the boy. He recognized him from the ferry they had taken to enter the city. He had helped this boy steal food from the captain, but declined his invitation to join his gang. The boy's name escaped him.

"Thought that was you," the boy said. He leaned in close, making Zuko take a step back. He continued towards Zuko until Zuko's back was against the wall. "You're a dead man," he whispered. Zuko pushed him back and took out his knife. The boy pulled out his hooked swords.

"I told you," Zuko said, "You don't want someone like me in your gang. Don't make this harder than it needs to be."

"Oh, I know we wouldn't want you. You're a liar, and a criminal," the boy spat. He leaned in closer again. "Fire Nation scum," he said in a voice that was thick with hate.

He lunged at Zuko, who was able to step out of the way and push the boy into the wall behind him. The boy steadied himself, but Zuko ran up the street. He didn't want to fight the boy and risk being taken by the Dai Li. Zuko didn't know what to think now. Two people knew they were Fire Nation. Things were getting worse.

He ran into their apartment, took off his hood, and walked into his bedroom. Sitting down on his bed, Zuko put his head in his hands. He was scared, something he didn't want to admit to himself. How do they know? How many people know? His mind raced with questions he couldn't answer. Could they be working together?

Laying down, he tried to work out what had happened over the last few days. He stayed up throughout most of the night. He didn't sleep much anymore. He couldn't.

He hadn't been this afraid in a long time.